


What could be

by Seven_Oomen



Series: Stony tumblr prompts [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, M/M, Slow Build, Stony - Freeform, homophobic howard stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-27
Updated: 2018-01-27
Packaged: 2019-03-10 06:52:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13496996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seven_Oomen/pseuds/Seven_Oomen
Summary: Tony's parents are inviting him for a family dinner as an offer of reconciliation after a gruesome fight five years prior. And although Tony would love to see his mother and brothers again, he's not too keen on reuniting with his homophobic father. So what's the best way to piss Howard off?Why bring his boyfriend of course! That should serve as an extra fuck you to Howard.Or how Tony got his hot neighbor to play his boyfriend for an evening. It gets better when his father seems to know his pretend boyfriend. And there's definitely no feelings involved. None whatsoever.





	What could be

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the prompt by Anonymous:
> 
> My homophobic parents are coming to visit will you pretend to date me as an extra “fuck you”?

_My dearest Tony,_

  
_It’s been so long since our last meeting and I miss you dearly_ mio _Tesoro. Your brothers are looking forward to seeing you as well, Arno has some very interesting photos he would love to show you and Gregory just_ misses _his older brother. Therefore your father and I thought it would be fitting to pay you a visit this weekend. We haven’t heard from you for so long, my darling._

  
_We look forward to seeing you this Saturday at seven pm at the Golden Falcon. Feel free to bring a date if that makes you more comfortable, but please do not anger your father, Tony. This is supposed to be a nice family dinner._

  
_I will always love you, my son. No matter what you decide._

  
_Love,_

  
_Mamma_

  
Tony stared at the letter he received a few days prior, running a hand through his hair as he slowly sank down on the beaten down sofa in his small but well-kept apartment. Being reunited with his father wasn’t his idea of a good time and his mother should have known that. Five years ago, Tony had left home after Howard had threatened to disown him. The memory of that fight…

  
He shook his head and sighed deeply, staring at the ceiling for a good minute as he considered his options. He wanted to see his brothers and mother again. The last time he’d seen them Greg had been sixteen and poor Arno had just been eleven. It would be good to see them again.

  
Leaving home at the age of twenty one hadn’t been his first choice. He’d just finished MIT and had a bright future ahead of him at his father’s company. However, the fight had ruined any chance of that and ever since Tony had been struggling to stay under the radar.

  
He’d let his mother know where he was, of course, send her letters from time to time to let her know he was alright and not dead in a ditch somewhere.  
He found a job at a respectable tech company in the R&D department to get by, but he made sure he didn’t share his biggest developments like his AI bots or JARVIS. They were currently safely kept in his second bedroom that he’d refurbished into his miniature workshop.

  
Eventually, he moved off his couch and placed the letter on his coffee table, to be ignored for the time being. He rested his forehead on his hands, wondering where he’d gone wrong in his life.

  
A knock on the door pulled him from his thoughts. He made his way over to his door, first checking the peephole to see one of his neighbors on the other side. He remembered that guy, Steve, his neighbor from across the hall.

  
He met Steve when he moved in on a rainy Sunday. The tall blond had given Rhodey a hand when they moved in Tony’s crappy sofa and coffee table and had stuck around to help him paint his apartment. The hand-painted mural of the periodic table in his workshop was Steve’s handy-work.

  
Steve was generally a quiet man, kind, polite, had a good sense of humor and was artistically inclined. Extremely well build with a handsomely chiseled jawline, soft blond short cropped locks, blue-green eyes and an ass to die for. Not that he paid any kind of attention to that. Of course, he didn’t.

  
He took the chain off and slowly opened the door. “Steve. How can I help you?”

  
Steve startled a little, giving him a soft, sheepish smile in return as he slowly held up a ceramic bowl. “Oh hey Tony, I- I was wondering if you had any sugar left? I was baking and then I realized I forgot to buy sugar and I just- I’ll come by later to bring the results as a thank you of course. But I was just- I was wondering if you… had, any.”

  
Tony blinked a few times to let it register. Steve was here for sugar? Didn’t he come by last time for flour as well or was that just him? Hmm… Steve sure seemed forgetful for someone who baked so much. “Yeah, sure. I got some in my kitchen. Come on in, I’ll fetch you some.”

  
He opened the door further and let Steve in, taking the ceramic bowl from the taller man as he gestured to the sofa. “Have a seat, would you like some coffee?”

  
“If it’s not a problem, sure. I really don’t want to bother you.”

  
“You’re never a bother, Steve-o.” Tony grinned, walking off to his small kitchen to fill Steve’s bowl and make two mugs of coffee.

  
He carefully balanced the two mugs in one hand while holding the bowl with the other as he walked back into his living room. He caught Steve staring at the letter on the coffee table and gently cleared his throat.

  
Steve startled so much he almost fell off the sofa. “I’m sorry, I didn’t…”

  
“Don’t worry about it, I left it out in the open. Besides it’s no big deal, I’m not going.” He sat down beside Steve, put the bowl of sugar on the coffee table and handed Steve his mug of coffee.

  
“I’m sorry.” Steve gave him a sympathetic look. “Is it because of the fight? Rhodey mentioned something-”

  
He was going to fucking murder Rhodey when he got his hands on him…

  
Tony sighed, it wasn’t like it was an actual secret back then. The tabloids had been full of it and it had been a bit of a miracle that Steve didn’t have a single clue as to who Tony really was. And if he did, he didn’t seem to give a shit that Tony carried the Stark name.

  
“My father’s… well, he’s very intent on seeing me marry and carry on the Stark name.”

  
“And you didn’t want that life,” Steve said.

  
“I did, somewhat. Just, not in the way he wants me to. You see, I’m-” He took a deep breath. “I’m Bisexual Steve, with a preference for men. And my father hates me for that because he wants me to find a wife and have kids. And I want a husband with kids.”

  
Steve went quiet for a second. “There’s nothing wrong with that, Tony. There’s nothing wrong with having a preference for men.”

  
Tony looked at him through his peripheral vision, chuckling softly. “You sound like you’ve got experience.”

  
“Somewhat,” Steve admitted, “I have a preference for men myself. I just don’t have any experience with dealing with unaccepting parents.”

  
He looked at Steve intently for a moment. The knowledge that Steve was either bisexual or Gay and preferred men was something he’d never expected to be privy to. But here he was.

  
“Hmm,” Tony hummed, “My mom’s fairly accepting of me, it’s just my dad who’s- well, he’s Howard.”

  
The wheels in his head started turning. It would be rather good to see his mother and siblings again. However that also meant he’d have to spend a considerable amount with his father, he wasn’t looking forward to that at all. He’d rather rip his own heart out.

  
But maybe he wouldn’t have to go through the experience alone this time. And if he brought a man with him to his family dinner it would surely piss his father off enough for the next ten years. It would be the ultimate ‘fuck you’.

  
His eyes fell on Steve. Steve was attractive enough, he was charming and sweet and his stupid little smile made him a bit weak in the knees.  
Not that he’d ever admit that out loud.

  
But more importantly, Steve liked helping people. And he’d be helping Tony a great deal if he pretended to be Tony’s boyfriend for one night. Worst case, Steve would refuse his request and potentially think Tony was a fucking weirdo. Which was fair. Besides, he had nothing else to lose except for an ingredient borrowing neighbor.

  
“I’m sorry, Tony.” Steve gently laid a hand on his shoulder.

  
Warmth radiated from Steve’s hand into his shoulder, spreading to every last inch of his body all the way down to the tips of his toes and up to the tips of his ears. Was he blushing? He was sure he was blushing.

  
“It’s alright, I have my mother. And Rhodey.”

  
“You have me.” Steve’s eyes widened slightly, “I mean if you want to. I live across the hall so…”

  
He couldn’t help but laugh at that. “I guess. Listen, this is going to sound crazy but I was wondering, would you want to pretend to date me- just to piss my dad off?”

  
He rubbed the back of his head in a reflex. Steve in the meantime was openly staring at him, mouth wide open as if he couldn’t quite comprehend what he’d just been asked. Not that Tony blamed him.

  
“Forget I said any-”

  
“Sure.” Steve blinked up at him.

  
“Excuse me, what now?” Was he hearing this correctly?

  
Steve was definitely blushing. That was a blush on his cheeks. “I’ll fake date you for your family dinner.”

  
“Great!” He smiled briefly at Steve and shuffled around in his seat, awkwardly staring into his cooling coffee for a moment before looking back at the blond. “So I’ll see you Saturday at six?”

  
“I’ll be there.” Steve nodded.

  
They both stared into their coffee, the minutes slowly ticking away as they sipped their cooling beverages. This was something he hadn’t taken into account when he’d asked Steve to be his date for a night. He wasn’t sure if he should say something or if he should just keep his mouth shut and let Steve speak first. Where they even going to break the silence or were they just going to sip their coffee until their mugs where empty? And then Steve would have to leave…

  
Fuck. Why’d he have to be so awkward?

  
After a few minutes, Steve set his mug down and slowly rose from the sofa, grabbing the bowl of sugar from the coffee table. “Thank you for the coffee, Tony. And the sugar of course. I’ll see you Saturday.”

  
Steve gave him a warm, gentle smile and slowly backed up, promptly walking into the door-post on his way out and almost spilling sugar on the floor. “Sorry, sorry!”

  
Tony merely laughed, watching in the doorway as Steve crossed the hall to his own apartment. “No problem, I’ll see you Saturday.”

  
He slowly closed the door, leaning with his back against it. A soft smile worked its way onto his face. Whether Steve actually liked him or not didn’t really matter. For one night, he could pretend he was dating his extremely hot neighbor.

  
Saturday rolled by all too soon and before he knew it he was standing in front of his mirror, fixing the one red tie he owed over his better-looking dress shirt. He could’ve used Howard’s money to buy anything he wanted, sure, but the whole reason he was hiding out here in this part of New York was to lay low. Unfortunately, that meant he had to keep up the facade by adjusting his wardrobe.

  
All in all, he didn’t look too shabby. He was wearing dress pants, dress shoes and he even found a black vest to wear over his shirt. Definitely could be a lot worse.  
At precisely six there was a knock on his door. He couldn’t help but openly stare at Steve after he’d opened it. Holy shit…

  
“Is it too much?” Steve asked, shyly biting his bottom lip.

  
Tony slowly shook his head. It definitely wasn’t too much, if anything, it was just the right amount of hot damn. Steve had dressed up in a simple, but stylishly fitted, dark blue suit with a matching striped tie. The man looked absolutely gorgeous in it. “No, no. You look. I- wow.”

  
He wasn’t blushing. He’d never admit it even if there was a faint red color on his cheeks.

  
Steve chuckled softly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Thanks, you’re looking quite nice yourself.”

  
He slowly straightened up. “So you’re ready to piss off your father?”

  
Tony shook himself out of his stupor, smirking as he grabbed his keys and wallet from the dresser next to the door and offered Steve an arm after he locked his apartment. “Ready when you are, dear.”

  
The Golden Falcon was one of those highly fancy restaurants that you couldn’t really get into unless you had a reservation for the past two years, you were a celebrity or a millionaire. Luckily for the Stark family, they had the two last qualifications down to a T.

  
Tony watched his mother’s face closely as the Taxi pulled up. She was still smiling, his brothers were still smiling. Howard was just looking bored as usual. That would all change as soon as they saw Steve. His shoulders heaved as he sighed.

  
“It’s alright. I’ll be right here.” Steve laid a hand on his shoulder.

  
Warm, heavy, comforting. It made him feel a bit better about doing this to his mother and siblings even though seeing Howard explode would bring him great joy.  
“I know,” Tony smiled in return, “Thank you, darling.”

  
He pressed a kiss to Steve’s cheek just as the cab door opens to let them out. Howard’s already seething by the time Tony gets out of the cab to hug his mother and brothers. Steve followed right after him.

  
“Ciao Mamma,” Tony kissed both his mother’s cheeks in affection before he pulled her into a warm hug.

  
“Ciao Tesoro, who’s your friend?” His mother smiled warmly at him in return.

  
“Mom, Greg, Arno, this is Steve. My boyfriend Steve.” He moved on to hug and greet his brothers as he introduced Steve to his family.

  
His mother didn’t look surprised, although she seemed a little disappointed in him. “I see, how rude of me. Welcome Steve, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  
Steve nodded at her, looking quite taken aback when his mother kissed both of his cheeks and hugged him in order to greet him. “Thank you, ma’am, it’s a pleasure to meet you as well.”

  
“Well mannered and handsome. My son picked well.”

  
“You invited him to piss off dad, didn’t you?” Greg asked him, smirking slightly. Just enough so Howard wouldn’t immediately notice it.

  
Tony merely winked in response before deciding to free Steve from his mother’s grasp. “Right, so if we’re all set. I think we have a table?”

  
His father stared at him for a moment, his upper lip curled up in disdain. Eyes practically beaming fire at him as he stared him down. “I was wrong. You could disappoint me more than you already do, Anthony. And to bring down Steve Rogers with you…”

  
He watched his father walk off, eyebrow raised at his father’s words. Howard knew Steve? From where?

  
“Good to see you again, Howard.” Steve slowly wrapped an arm around Tony’s waist. Pulling him close to his seemingly never-ending warmth.

  
Being so close to Steve gave him a good whiff of the man’s scent. He smelled of the Earth, of freshly cut wood on a spring morning and dark roast coffee with a faint trace of cinnamon in there. A part of him just wanted to bury his nose in the crook of Steve’s neck and stay there, his scent worked quite soothing.

  
“Right. Shall we go inside then?” His mother gently herded them all inside, after her rather pissed off husband.

  
Getting through dinner wasn’t much of an issue. Howard was far too consciously aware of the scene he’d be causing if he exploded in the middle of a restaurant of this caliber. But it was clear from the disdain in his eyes that the explosion was coming.

  
His family hit it off with Steve beautifully, the blond was playing his part of boyfriend beautifully. It kinda made him wish it was something that could be. Clearly, his mother and brothers adored Steve. Arno kept showing Steve his photography work and in return, Steve sketched some drawings on a napkin.

  
Gregory for his part was surprisingly pleasant towards Steve. In the past, his younger sibling had attempted to sabotage his relationships. Mostly out of jealousy, Gregory couldn’t stand it when someone else got his attention more than he did. Thankfully, he seemed to have grown out of it.

  
He felt a kiss being pressed to his temple. He looked up from his inner musing to find Steve smiling at him. He couldn’t help but smile back in return. “What?”

  
“I just wanted to let you know how much I love you,” Steve said softly, causing Arno and his mother to coo softly in response. His father, on the other hand, was silently seething. Either Steve was a great actor, or was there more going on?

  
He waved that thought off, of course, Steve didn’t feel anything for him. They were pretending.

  
“I love you too, honey.” He patted Steve’s hand and gently pressed a kiss to Steve’s lips. His heart beat in his chest, drowning out all other sounds as his lips touched Steve’s. He drew in an unconscious breath and held it for a few seconds, only releasing it when both of them leaned back. He faintly heard the sound of a clicking camera but paid little attention to it as he stared into Steve’s blue-green eyes.

  
Howard cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable with the entire situation. “If you’re quite done defiling Captain America…”

  
“Howard!” His mother hissed.

  
Tony blinked slowly, looking back at his father as the words slowly registered. “Excuse me?”

  
“He didn’t tell you?”

  
“Howard, that’s none-” He felt Steve’s arm tremble, the blond’s hand slowly curled around his own and held it tightly. As if he was trying to anchor himself.

  
“He’s Captain America. The man I defrosted five years ago.”

  
Tony looked between the two of them. “Well, in that case, I’m very glad you did, dad. Thank you.”

  
Steve looked at him, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape.

  
“Without your help, I could never have-” He held up his fingers and made a quotation mark gesture, “defiled, an American hero.”

  
“How dare you,” Howard hissed, “I will not-”

  
“And neither will we.” Steve slowly rose from his seat and laid his napkin down on the table. “Maria, Arno, Greg it was lovely to meet you. But I think we’ll take our leave before Howard says something he’ll regret.”

 

Howard’s eyes narrowed. “Are you threatening me?”

  
“I’m suggesting you should take another course of action when it comes to your son.” Steve had straightened himself up to his full height, clearly meaning to look more menacing and tall. Probably not the best idea in a place with tight security.

  
“Alright, I think that’s enough for today.” Tony quickly rose from his seat and kissed his mother’s cheek. “You have my address should you want to come by, but I should get this big guy back home.”

  
He quickly led Steve out of the restaurant and hailed a cab. “I think you took this fake date a little too seriously. I didn’t expect you to actually get into a fight with my father.”

  
“I’m sorry Tony,” Steve looked down at his hands, “But he shouldn’t treat you like that. That’s not the Howard I knew.”

  
“It’s the one he became.” Tony sighed.

  
“Doesn’t make it okay.”

  
“I know.”

  
He walked Steve back to his own apartment after the cab had left them in front of their building, leaning on the blond’s door post whilst rubbing the back of his neck. “I know this technically doesn’t count as a date, but-”

  
“I’d love to have a real one.”

  
He looked up in surprise, Steve was smiling at him. A warm hand settled on his cheek and slowly pulled him closer until their lips touched once again.  
Steve’s lips were soft, warm and generally just really pleasant to stay in contact with. Large, warm arms wrapped around him and pulled him closer. The funny feeling in his stomach spread to the rest of his body, drawing him in further into the little spell that Steve Rogers held on him. He slowly reached up and wrapped his arms around Steve’s neck to draw him in closer.

  
Eventually, they had to part to breathe, his forehead resting against Steve’s cheek. His eyes closed on their own accord and he took a moment to breathe in Steve’s scent and just have their little moment in the open hallway.

  
“Please tell me this doesn’t have to end.”

  
Steve chuckled. “Never.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked it or found something I can improve on, let me know! I'd love to hear from you!
> 
> Should this turn into Stuckony? Superfamily? What would you like to see next in this universe? Feel free to share your thoughts below. :)


End file.
